history

history
history (n.) late 14c., "relation of incidents" (true or false), from O.Fr. estoire, estorie "chronicle, history, story" (12c., Mod.Fr. histoire), from L. historia "narrative of past events, account, tale, story," from Gk. historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry; an account of one's inquiries, history, record, narrative," from historein "inquire," from histor "wise man, judge," from PIE *wid-tor-, from root *weid- "to know," lit. "to see" (see VISION (Cf. vision)). Related to Gk. idein "to see," and to eidenai "to know." In Middle English, not differentiated from STORY (Cf. story); sense of "record of past events" probably first attested late 15c. As a branch of knowledge, from 1842. Sense of "systematic account (without reference to time) of a set of natural phenomena" (1560s) is now obsolete except in natural history.
One difference between history and imaginative literature ... is that history neither anticipates nor satisfies our curiosity, whereas literature does. [Guy Davenport, "Wheel Ruts," 1996]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • history — history, chronicle, annals mean a written record of events important in the life or career of a race, a nation, an institution, or a region. A history is more than a mere recital of what has occurred; in the modern conception, at least, it… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • history — UK US /ˈhɪstəri/ noun [C, usually singular] ► a record of past events relating to a particular person or company: »This is the 50th consecutive month of uninterrupted job growth, the longest in the nation s history. »No one else in the Bank s… …   Financial and business terms

  • history — ► NOUN (pl. histories) 1) the study of past events. 2) the past considered as a whole. 3) the past events connected with someone or something. 4) a continuous record of past events or trends. ● be history Cf. ↑be history …   English terms dictionary

  • history — [his′tə rē, his′trē] n. pl. histories [ME < L historia < Gr, a learning by inquiry, narrative < histōr, knowing, learned < base of eidenai, to know < IE base * weid , to see, know > WISE1] 1. an account of what has or might have …   English World dictionary

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